EnergyAustralia has admitted breaching Australia’s Electricity Retail Code after failing to launch a mandatory plan offering eligible households three hours of free electricity each day.

The energy giant was required to make its Solar Sharer Offer available from July 1 but did not launch the plan until August 3, leaving current and prospective customers unable to access it for more than a month.

The offer is available to eligible households with smart meters in New South Wales, South Australia and South-East Queensland, including customers without rooftop solar panels or batteries.

It provides up to 24kWh of free electricity during a three-hour daily window, running from 11am to 2pm in NSW and South-East Queensland and noon to 3pm in South Australia.

Households could potentially reduce their bills by shifting energy-intensive activities, including running washing machines and dishwashers or charging electric vehicles, into the free period.

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However, consumers have been warned the opt-in plan may not suit households unable to move their electricity use, as charges outside the free window could result in higher overall costs.

The ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from EnergyAustralia requiring it to continue offering the plan, report on its compliance, train customer service staff and publish details of the breach on its website.

“As one of the country’s largest energy retailers, we expect EnergyAustralia to have better systems and processes in place to meet its legal obligations,” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.

EnergyAustralia serves around 1.6 million customers across eastern Australia.

The retailer was previously ordered to pay $14 million in September 2024 for making misleading statements about electricity prices and breaching the same retail code.